Entwined by Fate
by a flair 4 the dramatic
Summary: In a web of deceit, pride, passion and over-protective crime lords, a love was tangled. Though unrequited, that love might be, its power and intensity couldn't be rivaled. Fate has arranged the lives of Bella, Edward and Jacob like chess pieces - and all there's left to do is to start playing. AH. AU.
1. Prologue

_"Do not be afraid; our fate_

_Cannot be taken from us; it is a gift."_

― **Dante Alighieri, Inferno**

Fate moves like the time manufactured by an antique grandfather-clock. The reason time moves is because of the little pieces that make up the infrastructure of the machine. As such, fate needs little events and inconsequential screws that assist in its function.

Choices – they are the footballs that smash against the clock and stopping fate in its tracks. They help make our own fates. In the journey of life, cross-roads are found at every turn and these ultimately decide your destination.

The biggest cross-road found in life would have to be choosing one person over another. In this biggest cross-road, fate tricks you into thinking that it's a choice but it isn't one. Just because the baseball smashed the clock doesn't mean that time has stopped through the universe.

No. Fate doesn't change. It will take you to where you will need to be at the end.

For Edward Mason, fate brought the two most important people in his life who he loved differently, but with the same intensity and loyalty.

While neither of them wanted him in their lives.

Fate, however, found him amusing to play with, the cruel entity that it is, brought him to the emergency room, hanging on the threads of life.

Jacob Black sat impatiently on the uncomfortable plastic chairs fidgeting occasionally. He tried to watch the waiting room of Sibley Memorial Hospital through the objective eyes of a documentary maker, but failed. He felt haunted by the grieving eyes of the occupants while he cursed silently. He glared at the clock and the moving seconds that seemed to mock him by moving painfully slowly.

He couldn't look at the devastated soft brown eyes staring into space or comfort the hunched shoulders that screamed defeat.

Looking in the general direction of the emergency surgery room, he mused silently with an almost nostalgic smile on handsome face.

With a friend like him there isn't a need for an enemy.

**A/N:** Please keep reading...it gets better - I promise!


	2. The Orphanage

**The Orphanage**

_"Thy friendship oft has made my heart to ache: do be my enemy for friendship's sake."_ - **William Blake**

The low dark hanging clouds ominously covered the sky as far as the naked eye could see. An orphanage sat on what appeared to be the fringes of civilization. The building sat tall and strong like a lighthouse, a beacon calling out to all the souls that were abandoned. This Seattle day was like any other, except for the small inconsequential motion of a scared seven-year old boy entering the dark and gloomy orphanage with a mask of bravery.

His strange bronze hair sat in a thick mess on top of his head as his piercing green eyes took in his surroundings. The creepy barren trees around the Gothic structure with the broken limbs threw dark shadows on the structure and the broken windows of the attic gave the building a melancholy, haunted look. But the innocent eyes of the child only saw a home, a small corner of the world that he was welcome in, a place that he could call home; somewhere he could feel like he belonged.

As he entered the imposing structure, he was met with various glances and some stares from the residents. All of their little eyes were either filled with a peculiar curiosity or malice. The one thing that was commonly found in their looks was that he was unwelcome. But the strong toddler walked undeterred with a false sense of bravery, like an untrained soldier heading off into the battlefield.

Edward.

It was a name that he wasn't sure who gave him but he liked to think that one of his parents did. He liked it, as it was the only gift he ever received from his parents; he deceived himself into believing that they abandoned him because it was their only choice. He pulled out the leather bound journal that his last foster mother had given him.

It was a portal into his mind and actions. In it he, almost religiously, he wrote what he believed and did as he wrote. This journal was the bridge between his thoughts and actions. As a sense of total loneliness crept over him he decided fiercely that he was going to stop it before it takes over him. He opened his journal as the smell of fresh paper mixed with warm leather hit him as he wrote.

I want a friend and I'm going to find one.

He wasn't sure how he was going to execute this plan but he sat on the short stairway outside in the garden. He decided that first and foremost, he had to choose someone to be his friend. His foster mother had always believed fiercely in fate and how every person in their life is chosen by fate. These thoughts and her words had deeply rooted its place in Edward's mind as he decided that he would let fate choose his future friend. He saw a piece of used gum on the stair near him and his eyes followed a line of boys running towards the stairs. He decided that whoever stepped on that piece of gum, would be his friend.

He held his breath as his ears were assaulted by the thundering footsteps and loud chatter of the group of boys running towards the stairway. He felt his heart going a million miles an hour and his heart beat seemed louder than the noises that surrounded him. He never took his eyes off that piece of gum and everybody seemed to miss stepping on the sticky, gooey pink mess. Alas, a blue shoe was covered in the pink mess. Edward lifted his eyes to find who the owner of shoe and his new friend was. He was a tall Native American boy of nine years of age who seemed oblivious to both the state of his shoe and status he was elevated to in a matter of mere seconds.

The birds chirped in the garden, a garden which was not at all managed and made the weeds grow taller than the young boys standing in the middle of it. The splashing sound of the dark lake nearby gave the entire area a ghoulish look and the cawing of the magpies just enhanced this effect. The noise of the magpies felt like mockery to Jacob's ears. Jacob Black couldn't believe what he was hearing; the new kid called himself his best friend and practically demanded him to be his best friend. He stood there with an expectant and hopeful look in his seemingly innocent eyes.

Jacob mustered up all the patience in his little frame.

"Listen kid, I cannot just start calling you my best friend, you haven't done anything for me," he coldly stating with authority. But that did not deter Edward's hopeful expression.

Smiling serenely, as if expecting the question.

"Do you know how to swim?" he asked Jacob with an impish grin and he was answered with an annoyed negative shake of the head.

Edward crossed the distance between them with a remarkable speed and shoved the surprised 9-year-old into the freezing cold lake. He watched impassively as he struggled to float and once he determined that he had to be saved, Edward jumped into the lake and rescued the Jacob from drowning.

With wet black hair pasted across his face, he recovered from the shock of what had just happened to him. He found himself facing an expectant looking child that he was terrified of at the moment and he reluctantly nodded with a tentative smile. He wasn't sure of what he had just agreed to but with a petrified heart agreed to his proposal of being his best friend.

The boys were inseparable, one who had no choice in the matter and the other, filled with the trepidation of being abandoned. Autumn came whirling around and brought with it crunchy dried leaves that lay on the ground and filled the air with vibrant colours that was significant to autumn.

Edward came rushing in to find Jacob lying on the top bunk of their bed in the room that they shared. In a mostly curious but with a hint of cautiousness, Jacob enquired,

"Where have you been?"

Jacob inquired in a mostly curious but with a hint of cautiousness. He almost immediately regretted asking the question when he saw the mischievous look in his eyes.

With an excited look that showed an edge of pain, he held out his arm and there, tattooed was the name Jacob.

Jacob was touched and thought that maybe he didn't realise the love and the pedestal he was on in Edward's bizarre world. But suddenly doubting his own thoughts.

"Why?" he asked with a cautious smile on his face, his voice shaking with emotions he couldn't place. While a part of him wondered who in their right mind would agree to tattoo a seven year old.

Still smiling, Edward replied with a strong emotion.

"Because you are my best friend and I want you to be always with me."

His reply caused Jacob to re-evaluate their friendship and just when these thoughts passed through his mind, he saw the frown on Edward's face.

His green eyes focused on Jacob's arm and his frown deepened and being a bright little boy, Jacob knew that look and what would follow. With no further thought he jumped off the bed and took off faster than a bat out of hell. He was unsurprised to find a mess of copper hair chasing after him like a blood hound after a frightened rabbit.

This situation might have seemed funny to the rest of the world but it certainly didn't to Jacob and before he could further ponder the weird humour of the world, he was tackled to the ground by a blurry figure.

Before Jacob realised what was happening to him, he was pinned to the wall and an ancient Native American woman, with long grey dreadlocks and a few teeth that could be easily counted with one hand, was tattooing the name Edward on his arm. While he squeezed his eyes shut he heard his personal demon.

Edward regretted the look of pain in his friend's eyes but knew that it was necessary.

"Because I always want to be with you." he whispered with words laced with sadness.

But Jacob's heart refused to acknowledge anything except the pain shooting through his arm as he fought the tears.

When the tattoo was complete, Edward put his arm next to Jacob and admired the work as if it were done by a master artist as opposed to a 600 year old woman who could barely hold the needle and the joint that she was smoking at the same time.

Edward Cullen smiled a breathtaking smile which made him look like an angel fallen from the highest clouds in heaven, meanwhile Jacob Black thought he was a demon spawn who climbed from the darkest pits of hell.

**A/N:** You don't have to leave reviews because I feel like I'm giving a gift to the world of online literature. Just the idea of you guys reading my work makes me happy! Did that sound pretentious enough to warrant a review out of you lazy gits out there?!


	3. The Seperation

**The Separation**

_"A friend is a hand that is always holding yours, no matter how close or far apart you may be. A friend is someone who is always there and will always, always care. A friend is a feeling of forever in the heart."_ - **Unknown**

The ghoulish mansion that housed over seventy other residents had been donated by a rich lone soul while he was on his death bed. In a vain last attempt to rectify the hundreds of sins he had committed in his lifetime. The grounds of this estate expanded over as far as the eye could see and became the home of many young children who fancied themselves the prince and the princesses of the kingdom that lay in near ruins.

The only exception was the little black haired boy and the little ball of copper haired energy that was by his side constantly. They both always felt that they belonged in a much better place and were certain that they would find that place in life and this remained their only similarity. The seemingly cheerful duo had developed a taste for adventure and were curious about the world. The world they were certain existed outside the iron wrought gates of the building that they dwelled in.

They started wandering the grounds that surrounded the manor that they refused to acknowledge as their home and came upon a common addictive drug - found on the lips of wet dream inducing sexy rebels – known to the unimaginative public as a cigarette.

Being raised in foster homes and orphanages with ten other kids wasn't the ideal place or the ideal people to be brought up by. They were never taught the difference between the right and wrong. They were led by their curious nature as if it were a patch of light ahead of a dark terrain they journeyed through.

They were once again led by their curiosity as they decided to light it and try it for themselves. Since that fateful day that decided the course of their friendship, they had shared anything and everything. Dividing the cigarette in half with a pen and their names written on each end in minute writing, the eight year old was the first to exhale the smoke present in his lungs. He was then wrecked with severe coughs that lasted for several seconds.

His accomplice, the brown eyed little boy seeing this, was even more stoked than before to try it for himself. After his own body was shaking from the coughs that he was sure that he could feel down in his lungs, he looked at Edward and saw a mischievous glint in his eyes. Sharing became a tradition, almost a ritual, every time they smoked another cigarette, Edward would smoke till the middle and Jacob would finish it. Although he appeared fine on the outside, he was disturbed deep down feeling that the cigarettes were second-hand because he wasn't good enough for anything more. He tortured himself with this knowledge everyday but none of it was evident in his face or to anyone who bothered to look. He couldn't wait to leave the hell hole in which he found himself in and the spawn of Satan who he found himself next to.

Sunlight with little specks of golden dust streamed in through the muddy window of the dingy bedroom that was icy cold in the winter and not cold enough in the summer. The muddy dust settled on the cracked window seemed to take different shapes from time to time, an imaged that took different forms according to Edward's moods. Today, he was exhausted and looked out the window and saw a battle-worn dragon breathing flickering flames of fire as if to prove that he had the will to keep fighting.

Today was the day that they finally might get out of this god-forsaken place where no one remembered or even bothered to learn his name. Today was the day that he might finally get adopted by a nice, kind couple. He knew he was in his own day-dream as the same dream was shared by all the kids he had come to know over the years. But he was certain about one thing and one thing alone; he wouldn't leave Jacob without anyone to take care of him.

When Edward had been in a dark place in his life, without anybody permanent in his life, without anybody who stayed long enough for him to love. Jacob, however, was his best friend and he loved him. Although, Edward never liked to dwell upon the circumstance in which they had become best friends, he liked to think that it was fate's plan all along. He strongly believed that fate had plans for everyone and that fate will intervene to unite people together in life but he was sure that he wouldn't leave his best friend behind. He glanced down at his arm, tracing his tattoo and consoled himself that he would always have a part of him.

With eyes full of hope and lips that fought and gave up a smile, sat the two little boys sat on a chair that was twice their size. The light hanging over their heads, the only light illumination the dark room, made them look like suspects being interrogated.

Looking through the window, the sun had set hours ago and Jacob felt that it was too soon, but it wasn't the revolving of the Earth that he was scared about but it was the looming possibility that he would never get out of this house. Dressed immaculately in a grey suit and a white button down, crease-free shirt was the agent from child services. She sat in a plain wooden chair purchased from IKEA, as it reeked with its generic nature. The day had finally arrived when he would know the course of action is life is going to take. This was the day that he would find out whether or not he would be adopted.

They both pretended to look patient but their legs wouldn't stop moving with impatience. The woman who sat before them had her hair slicked back into a tight knot on top of her head, making her features look stern. With a sigh she placed her hands on top of the table that separated her and the boys, an action that meant to show comfort. They watched her as she took a deep breath and her eyes filled with an emotion that they couldn't name, pity maybe.

"The couple you both met decided that they liked you both," she started with a happy note that accompanied her words and the boys took a collective gasp but she continued as her voice took a sad timbre,

"But…" she started and both their faces fell at the word that was so familiar to them- the word that summed up what they would feel next- disappointment.

She continued pretending she didn't notice the looks on their faces, "They only want one of you so they left it up to you to decide which one." She finished with a steel tone that suddenly manifested in her voice that signified that the conversation was over. For a few seconds she held their hands and then left the room indicating that there was no chance for a rebuttal.

Creaking sounds crept from the bunk- bed as he sat on it; the bed was so old and dirty that happy bed bug communities lived there. The bed frame was made of rusty iron with the added bonus of not knowing when the entire thing would collapse on top of him. This was the bunk that he shared with Edward and probably only for the next few hours. Jacob knew deep down that if both of them wanted to be adopted and the adopting couple were given a choice, they would pick the youngest. He resented Edward more in that moment than ever before. As this realisation hit him, he felt a sickness that suddenly manifested at the bottom of his stomach while sadness manifested in his eyes.

Edward found his best friend in this state when he walked into the room that they shared. He felt sick when he heard that they were going to be separated, but ever the optimist, he consoled himself and told himself that if he was adopted then he would convince them to take in Jacob as well. But now seeing Jacob distraught sitting on their bed, he wasn't sure how they would make this decision.

He finally decided that he would let face take its course and he found a coin. His brown eyes were startled to find Edward standing before him with a coin in his hand. His brown eyes widened as he realised that a coin was going to decide his destiny. The copper haired boy took out a coin that matched the colour of his hair and asked his best friend tentatively to call it in the air.

The coin was flipped and as it was launched in the air, a set of brown eyes followed its every movement with hawk like eyes oblivious to the clear green eyes that were staring at him thoughtfully.

"Heads," he called out in a whisper that sounded too quiet to his own ears. He hoped against hope that he would win this toss. He knew that if he did win, it would make up for all the losses he had suffered as a child. The resentment that had wharfed through the air when he walked in after his parents had fought, the sadness when he discovered that he had been abandoned in a homeless shelter, the bullying that he faced at school when the kids found out he was a foster kid.

The coin landed on the floor and finally after spinning for a few seconds, landed with a 'clink' which seemed to echo throughout the room as Jacob realised that he wasn't breathing.

His brown eyes seemed to stay glued to the coin for what felt like hours. He felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach as he realised that the side that the coin landed on was tails. He knew that he had lost and raised his head, expecting a look of triumph across the green eyes that followed his every movement but was annoyed to find a softer look there. He didn't want anybody especially his pity.

"What?" he snapped with all of the bitterness that had welled up in him within the past few minutes making his green eyes come out of its daze and Edward out of his thoughts and he smiled a small, sad smile and a heavy heart.

"Do you need any help packing?" he asked with the same smile that seemed to be glued to his lips and his smile widened as he saw Jacob's astonished look.

"Everything that I win is yours as whatever you win is mine." he explained in a soft voice with a serene smile.

"But, why?" he asked startled realising that it sounded rude to even his own ears as he articulated his feelings without censoring.

"Because we are best friends and we share our victory" he answered with the same serene smile coupled with a look filled with wisdom that seemed to surpass his years.

Jacob would've seen the love present in his friend's eyes if he had bothered to look for it. After years of hoping to find eyes that carried love when they looked at him and feeling the disappointment each and every time, he didn't bother to look any more. Never having been loved before, he didn't recognise the reasons behind Edward's actions.

The only thought that passed through his mind at that moment was how he would finally get rid of the green eyes that followed his every movement and hoped that this new chance in life would bring him everything that he never experienced. He was looking forward to a normal life with parents that cared and the feeling of being good enough only for all things that weren't second-hand, his and only his.

While in his excitement of looking forward to the new aspects in his life, he forgot - or may have forgotten if he had acknowledged its existance – the love of his best friend.

Edward didn't know what he expected but the look of utter despair was not one and he never wanted to see it on the face of his best friend. He gave his best friend what he wanted and convinced himself as he wrote in his journal, with a sharpened pencil,

I will do anything for my best friend.

He tried to convince his heart that he would come and get him once he settled into his new life but the promises sounded false to his mind but his heart believed him wholly.

Jacob sat in the backseat of Billy Black's Mercedes and never looked back at the dark and gloomy building, which even though he refused to acknowledge as his home, seemed somehow gloomier than usual. If he had looked back he would've seen clouds starting to form over the fields -the fields he roamed - mourn its loss. If he had looked back he would've seen the form of a little boy – as his copper hair soaked-standing in the middle of the field as his tears mixed in with raindrops. The oblivious little boy who was trying to rub off the tattoo on his arm in vain would've seen - if he had looked back - the fields soaked in tear filled raindrops and its mourning occupant.

A beautiful little girl with long brown hair tripped over a doorway to her father's study and fell down on the hard wood floor to find her knees skinned and bleeding. As the smell of blood drifted over her nose she nearly passed out from the smell. Just as she was about to start wailing her head off, a blonde haired man came running to her side in a speed that could've rivalled any Olympic gold medal winner for running.

He lost his control over his feelings - which he usually kept a tight leach on - and started screaming for his assistant, his butler, the driver and everybody else he could think of -to call the ambulance or to get the car running- as he lost his bearings. No one had seen their boss ever lose his demeanour and stood still like statues that were waiting to be brought to life.

It was true Carlisle never lost his demeanour even though he's been through more than anyone should have and suffered through more traumatic events than one should have to. He has seen a man die in his hands, he has seen his parents being killed right before his eyes, and he had even lived through the death of the only woman he ever loved. He however lost his composure when he saw his daughter in pain.

He looked at her with such a tortured expression and even at that young age she realised it hurt him more than her. She swallowed the tears and put on her mask of bravery and tried to smile but it came off as a wince.

The gentle blue eyes of the man saw right through her act and tried to soothe her with gentle words - making his voice sound like honey on silk - while he started yelling like a banshee at his house staff. Just as he was about to run through the double doors through to the cars carrying Isabella, the doors burst open to reveal their housekeeper.

"Alice, ask Alec to get the car running, we need to go to the emergency room, have you called the doctor?" he rambled off in a panicked voice.

Alice just ignored his childish antics and breezed through the room with a gentle smile aimed at Isabella.

"ALICE WHITLOCK, DIDN'T YOU HERE ME?" he bellowed so loudly that the entire staff of the estate felt a chill to their very bone. He couldn't believe the nerve of this woman smiling while his daughter was in pain. The woman with the black, spiky hair was undeterred as she kept smiling while she moved over to get the first aid kit and sat down next to Isabella - who looked at her father as if this was an everyday occurence.

"Calm down Carlisle, this happens more times than you could imagine and if we take her to the ER every time she trips then we would be banned from every hospital in the city," she explained in a soft and amused voice as she began taking care of the clumsy little girl's wounds.

Carlisle was about to refute and start a yelling match but Isabella's watery smile stopped him. She cared about Alice and it still amazed him that the mere presence of Alice could calm his daughter. He smiled proudly as he realised that his daughter was strong, independent and didn't like to show any weakness.

Isabella listened to Alice as she started to tell the little five-year old a story about a kingdom far, far away which housed a princess with an over-protective father. Her voice soothed Isabella as she cleaned her wound and wrapped it up in gauze. She kissed her father and left his study with Alice. Carlisle watched as his daughter left the room with a mesmerized look in his face. I was wrong, he thought to himself, she is much stronger than me and has better values than I do.

He knew that he was over-protective of his daughter but only because she was the only family he had. For her own safety she was given her mother's maiden name and not his, this thought saddened him more than anything else. Now, he felt proud that he was able to give her something more important than a mere name; he gave her his strong characteristics.

She wanted to protect him now – the irony didn't escape him- she loved him, him, this thought amazed him more than anything. His daughter valued the feelings of others before hers. She knew the difference between what was right and wrong, which is more than he knew in all of his 30 years. With that thought on his mind and paternal pride evident in his smile, he got dressed for work. Leaving his safe haven and his precious daughter, he headed to the other side of Seattle.

He left the part of Seattle where nothing but the smell of freshly cut roses and well-manicured lawns wafted through the air to hide the stench of blood on the hands of the residents. Beautiful mansions that housed the patrons who tried to forget the demons of their past and one such building was the home of the terror inducing Seattle crime-lord Carlisle Cullen.

**A/N**: Yeah...I know! WoW! I take back what I said...I want reviews! Yeah, you're just going to ignore me aren't you?! It's just like when I go stand out in the streets and yell "I want sex!" and no one even turns back. Story of my life!


	4. The Emulation

**The Emulation**

"_Anger and jealousy can no more bear to lose sight of their objects than love._"- **George Eliot**

The sun set across in a slow pace, leaving a trail of blue and orange ribbons in its wake. Sunlight glinted off the silver Aston Martin that flew across the road leaving a purr of barely discernible noise behind. The hands that gripped the wheel didn't enjoy the sunset nor did he acknowledge the numbers that his speedometer passed.

Jacob Black was re-evaluating his life as he found himself doing more and more lately. His teenage years were spent in a remarkably manner - chasing girls, experimenting with narcotics and floating around in the 'narcissistic asshole' bubble.

The thought brought a smile to his lips. It had been a while since he felt anything that even remotely resembled amusement.

After he graduated from Harvard Business School, an entire corporate empire was handed down to him in a silver platter. On the surface, nobody would be able to find a single nick in his life but he was aware of them, he was always aware of them.

While being adopted changed his life in the most dramatic way he could have ever imagined, it didn't cause a single jolt in his father's. Father – the word left a bitter taste in his mouth, Billy Black never was nothing more than a sponsor to this luxurious lifestyle that he enjoyed. All he was to his father was an easy solution to his problem, an heir who had to be bought and sculpted to his standards.

He tried to squish the thoughts manifesting but try as he may, he couldn't manage the feat. The heir that was a second choice, he was the reluctant option that had to be made because Billy Black was impotent. These just fed into his insecurities about being second place, never being good enough for anything more.

He couldn't, shouldn't complain because there was very little that money couldn't buy in this world and he convinced himself that he would never find himself in a place where he craved that handful of unreachable things.

With these thoughts on the surface of his mind, he braked hard at the traffic lights as they changed to red. Loud music pervaded through the glass of the car window and seemed to lie over the interior of the car like a film.

Just as Jacob rolled down his windows letting the Zeppelin pour in, he saw a muscled, heavily tattooed arm hanging out the window of the huge truck next to him. When he met the guy's eye, he heard him rev his engine over the loud music.

He's been in enough drag races to recognize the invitation when he saw one.

"What the fuck…why not?" he thought to himself as he considered with a smirk and signaled a 'yes' to the stranger driving the Pontiac G8 with a nod.

As the traffic signal turned to green, both cars accelerated off at a neck breaking speed down the highway. Over-taking the few cars present on the highway, they rounded a bend in a way that most would call reckless and the others suicidal. They swerved around each other like black and silver paint drops being dragged over the asphalt canvas.

Just as they rounded another bend, Jacob was about to overtake when he judged the distance poorly and caused a big scratch over the smooth black surface of the truck. As he realized his mistake, he signalled to pull over the side of road more from social expectations than actual remorse.

Jacob stood leaning against his car door as he saw the doors of the G8 open and from the car stepped two hugely muscled guys with tattoos across the expanse of their bodies. And on their faces they wore an expression that could only be described as 'pissed beyond all reason'.

One of the hulking guys had a beard that covered most of his face carried out with him a baseball bat and swaggered over to Jacob swinging it.

The smirk vanished from Jacob's lips and a snarl took its place. Just as he was about to get into his defensive mode, he heard a huge smash as wood met glass and only came out a winner.

As little shards of glass landed on his black leather seats like crystals shining with the last of the sun's rays, Jacob realized that all his bones were indeed intact. He looked back up at the grinning muscled man with amusement and smiled.

"Is that it, gentlemen? Are we done? Here's my insurance number and have a nice night" he called out over his shoulder dropping a card and stepped into his car with the smirk back on his lips.

"You rich assholes think that you can just throw money at everything and it'll go away" the stranger called out with a deeply patronizing tone hoping to get a rise out him.

Jacob smirk stayed glued to his lips as always and this seemed to piss the guy off even more when he realized he was being tuned out.

Using his imagination he carried out all the insults he could find in his vocabulary, insulting Jacob's mother, and insinuating incest.

Having heard all the standard insults before, Jacob didn't seem bothered by any of it, in fact his pose seemed to get more at ease as the guy's anger and volume grew. Knowing that he was being goaded into a fight, he was about to drive away. Just then, the silent brawny guy leaning against the bonnet of his car and stopped his friend's insults and in a tone that bordered on calm and called out.

"Hey! Your mum watched the new Twilight movie…and guess what," - he paused for dramatic effect – "she liked it" he ended with a satisfied look on his face watching the expression get grimmer on Jake's as he stepped out of the car.

Jake walked quickly to the guy leaning against his car with a neutral mask on his face in an attempt to cover the feral expression evident in his eyes. He pulled back his arm and the smirk was back on his face as he heard the crunch of his fist connecting with soft cartilage.

Before the blood squirted on the bitumen, he was aware of the fist connecting with the contour of his nose.

-ooooo-

The wind rushed in through the glass-less windows and ruffled his thick black hair as he struggled to see the approaching Manhattan skyline he was speeding towards with his half-closed purple eyes. He tasted copper as the blood from his broken nose dripped down his face; he parked at his town-house.

He found a blurry shape approaching him at a fast pace and as he recognized the bronzed hair, his hands tightened at the wheel. As sharp pain shot up from his torn knuckles, he stayed still in his seat with a resigned expression on his face.

He stepped out of the car just as he found a pair of worried green eyes cradled with scrunched up eyebrows looking at him.

The rain fell in heavy sheets sounding like drums in a rock band, the window pane creaked in protest as lightning and thunder played a verse of their own every now and then. The middle-scale bar was filled with soft jazz as a moderate amount of patrons occupied the seats.

Angela Weber was a demure girl, working for twelve hours each day just to make ends meet however she couldn't afford to be demure in a place like this. So she wore a fake smile and a mask of confidence whenever she put on her name tag and apron. She tossed the cocktail shaker in the air and caught it a few times in a mesmerizing way that ensured any other bartenders to quake with envy especially coupled with the tips that she received.

She wore a white cotton shirt with a few too many buttons open, in an attempt not to invite unwanted attention but for a few extra tips. It was nearly the end of her shift and she couldn't wait to get away from the lecherous stares of the patrons and home to her small loft.

As she served up her famous signature cocktail, she looked up into the most gripping green eyes she had ever seen. Just as she felt about to melt into a puddle, he asked in the most hypnotic voice about two of her regular customers. She tried to remember who he was asking about, they were two huge guys with tattoos etched across their huge frame, suspecting it was more for intimidation purposes than anything else.

"They never gave their names, but they come here every other night" she said in a quivering voice, which had temporarily deserted her.

"They occupy the corner booth over there." she said on second thoughts.

She pointed to a booth that was shrouded in darkness, his gaze followed her finger and he flashed a smile in her direction and headed towards the dark corner. He heard but didn't pay any attention to the effect of his smile, as Angela quickly tried to recover her bearings.

As she worked the rest of the night, her gaze kept returning to the corner table every now and then. She just happened to look up and found the two guys walking in and her gaze immediately went to the booth with the mysterious occupant but all she saw was darkness.

She had a feeling that the meeting wasn't going go smoothly, so when the end of her shift neared, she packed up her belongings but her common sense lost its argument to curiosity.

She went closer to get a better look and just as she thought she heard something from the corner, a glass was thrown in her direction missing her by mere inches. Looking at the blue liquid staining the wall behind her, she looked back wide eyed.

Before she comprehended her surroundings, a huge frame landed on one of the tables and smashed it to smithereens.

It turned out that, that was just the start of things, before long, when she looked around the floor was covered with coloured liquids and smashed glass. The floor to ceiling painting that adorned the back wall, once proudly hung, was now unrecognizable with its canvas lying in shreds.

There were fists thrown, knuckles torn and the sickening sound of broken bone echoed through the air for a while. She watched the guy she had talked to earlier and he was unrecognizable in his fury, like an avenging angel, he was hauntingly beautiful.

With shaking fingers she called 911 and looked on - in a mix between horror and astonishment- as blood and booze ran down in a puddle on the counter tops. Before long, sirens were heard in their high pitched squeal and the fight was broken up by guys in uniforms.

As all three were handcuffed, she tried to identify the extent of the damage done as she wondered what they had done to deserve it. As she looked up, she found herself looking into the same sparkling green eyes but now it was adorned with bruises and blood was gushing around it.

As she looked on at the blood trickling down his straight nose and she glanced back up into his eyes in horror but she found only amusement in those eyes. He winked insolently at her and wore a proud smirk around his lips and let the police lead him with an audacious swagger as if leading a procession.

"See, this is why I like you Steve, you got your friend's back" Edward told the fellow next to him in a casual manner, with new stitches across his forehead and with torn lips, he puffed out ringlets of smoke.

Steve, for all his scary demeanour looked so unthreatening that it was close to pitiful with the bandages across his face and with the arm that he was cradling.

He looked up at Edward's words and shrugged haplessly.

Just then, the rattling of the bars caused them to look up as a man in a uniform told Edward that he was being bailed out. He got up to leave with an unsurprised look on his face.

"What's a Twilight movie?" Edward asked almost as a second thought as he was about to walk out the bars.

"Something I heard my nephews scoffing at, apparently very offence, I'm guessing it's like porn but worse, something about shiny vampires… I don't know" Steve replied annoyed.

"Huh!"

Edward walked out with a quick wave and a nod to the fellow comrades in the small cell. His gaze wandered bored till he spotted Jacob and as his mood lightened, he could see the annoyance make way in his friend's face.

While walking past him, he bumped Jake's shoulder as he walked past, letting him trail behind him with an ever present exasperated expression on his face every time he was in his friend's presence.

**A/N**: I dedicate this chapter to all the Twilight fans who have been made fun of, obviously I include myself as well...you know what I'm talking about. I got a ton of views, you know how you clicked on it read it, thought this was shit and left without reviewing?! Yeah...well, that counts as a view! Leave a review...your mum does!


	5. The Impulsion

**The Impulsion**

_"Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together."_ – **Vincent Van Gogh**

Dark velvet blanket was draped across the sky and the twinkling lights of the Manhattan skyline glittered more arrogantly than the stars. A black SUV, meant to be conspicuous, rushed along the highway at 90 miles an hour. Neither of the two passengers spoke and the silence hung in the air like a bad odor.

The two handsome men turned towards each other like mirror images, both with a carefully placed neutral expression on their face. Neither of them wanted to be the first to lose by showing their emotions. Jake's anger cracked its way to the surface but before he could control it, his companion roared out in laughter. The ring of his laughter catalysed the scowl onto Jacob's face.

Finally unable to take the ridicule that he imagined was in the laughter.

"Why did you feel the need to beat them up so fucking bad?" he growled in question and before Edward could reply, he continued, his voice rising in anger.

"And why the fuck did you get arrested?" he finished in a shout with a glare at the impish look he was shot.

"Well…you try starting a fight in a bar without breaking any furniture. Then for some unknown reason, someone at the bar felt unsafe and so they rang 911." he replied in a condescending tone.

"Wusses!" he insulted with a smirk and a twinkle in his eye causing Jacob to roll his eyes with a smile hanging at the end of his lips.

Jacob studied his friend's profile quietly, trying in vain to understand him. He had tried a countless number of times to grasp at what made him tick but failed every single time. But of one thing he was certain; he knew that Edward would do anything he asked him to do. That is – everything but leave.

When Jake finally broke out of his thoughts and glanced at the speedometer – although a part of him wasn't surprised at the speed, but the part of him which didn't feel like being sprayed across the highway – yelled a short command to slow down.

He watched as the speedometer moved a few centimetres and sighed in annoyance. He let his thoughts wander to the new contract he was considering, the profit margin of the new venture. He also made a mental note to schedule a time to watch the Twilight movie just so that he is aware of what exactly he's being insulted of the next time.

Ooo-x-ooO

Edward gripped the wheel tighter as he let the speedometer crawl up a few more inches and winced as the action caused the brace on his hand to dig deeper into his skin. He let his thoughts wander, as he remembered the cold lonely orphanage after Jacob left and the thought caused him unbearable pain that he quickly buried it. He picked out each significant memory and started to analyse it.

He remembered the bullying when he had first started high school, painful but eventually it taught him to defend himself, both physically and strategically. As he grew more confident in into adulthood, his defences were all placed carefully. He found himself growing more and more cautious as someone entered his life. He would find their weaknesses and carefully have it placed in a tactical position, that the moment they decided to attack, they would've already lost.

For the rest of the world, he appeared to be utterly laid-back, sharing the same spirit as a drifter or backpacker or even a hippie. Beneath the camouflage, however, laid the military tactician who expected attack from every open angle and was ready for it.

Each thought, he carefully planned and crafted.

Each emotion, he hid well.

Each action, he thought completely.

As a great strategist, he knew that his armour that was so carefully constructed had a chink and that was his friend, Jacob.

He was the only one who he had let in. The only one around whom, his emotions took control and his actions weren't his own. When his only friend had left him, the agony he had felt was so unendurable and the impulse to avoid that feeling at all cost was a natural instinct. Now, if he had to shackle himself up to his friend, to avoid being abandoned, then he would do that in a heart-beat.

Ooo-x-ooO

Edward decided to break the almost comfortable silence that had descended on them like a soft fleecy blanket.

"I want a job." he spoke hurriedly like a quick attempt of ripping off a Band-Aid.

Jake had been swimming in the comforting lull of his thoughts and plans when he was hooked like a fish and dragged out by those words.

"I'll call some people and see what I can do." He replied in an annoyed and slightly distracted voice.

"No." Came the abrupt reply in a tone that Jacob had always dreaded and he knew that this conversation was going to be difficult.

"I want to work with you." Edward stated with a frown, avoiding his friend's eyes and focusing on the flyover they were about to drive on to.

"I want to work in your company…here in New York" he continued clearing any other way his statement could've been misconstrued.

Jake stared into mossy green eyes that had suddenly started to fizzle with something fighting to come out. He opened and closed his mouth, astonished speechless. Suddenly he burst out laughing at the absurdity of the request which wasn't really a request.

Edward listened to the laughter patiently and when it ended abruptly, he looked across the car with an eyebrow raised in a questioning defiance.

Seeing the look on his face, Jacob's face darkened.

"I was given a multi-million dollar business empire to manage and I can't hire just anyone who isn't qualified for the job" he replied in a no non-sense voice, avoiding eye contact.

Seeing the look of defiance still on his face he continued in a hurried, condescending tone.

"Especially with the global financial crisis, I can't cut corners and just hire someone off the street…"

He was abruptly cut-off by the sparking energy he felt slowly fill the space between them.

Slowly Edward reached into his jacket and pulled out a few documents and tossed them onto Jake's lap wordlessly. He watched the road as he avoided the surprise and suspicion that would be evident on his friend's face and he ignored the pang of hurt he felt deep in his gut.

Brown eyes glanced at the documents in annoyance which slowly turned to surprise which eventually turned to suspicion.

"You graduated from Harvard with honours?" he questioned mockingly, putting a deep emphasis on the "you" with condescension.

A deep chuckle escaped his throat.

"Where did you get these?" he asked sardonically with a carefully raised eyebrow and a disparaging tone.

"I earned it" he mumbled and his voice grew louder as his emotions took control of his carefully put-on demeanour. "I got a scholarship and worked hard to get it" he continued in a barely controlled voice.

"Now, do I have the job?" he questioned with a deep emotion that was lost on his spectator.

Jake pretended to consider it for a moment and placed the carefully practised mask on. While on the outside he looked neutral but a thousand different emotions were playing inside his mind. His thoughts were flying around in his head.

Edward looked at the emotions that were thought to be well-hidden and his hands tightened more painfully on the wheel, as he kept staring at the doubt and panic that was beginning to seep through the façade.

Suddenly the car lurched forward across the yellow tapes, knocking down 'Under Construction' signs, heading towards the unfinished fly-over the "end-bit"- for a lack of better words from a lazy author who isn't getting many reviews.

The screeching of the brakes cracked the night's silent air like a whip and Edward spun the wheels around wildly. He lurched the car to a sharp left meters away from the drop on the road, leading gravity to take a sharp hold of the vehicle and tugging it down. The black car swayed to the right and the passenger window swung open and as Edward looked at the passenger seat, it was empty.

Hanging off the dead-end – in this case, quite literally – was Jacob Black.

Jake felt his hands digging into the rough concrete and the sharp metal rods poking out began to draw blood from his hands. His grip began to slip and all of a sudden, two hands clutching his shoulders were all that stopped him from his immediate death.

"Pull me up! What are you waiting for?" he yelled over the sound of his own heartbeat, which sounded like gun fires to his ears.

Edward had an intense look on his face which Jake knew from experience that it wasn't ever good for him.

"I want a job in your company!" He said in a neutral tone of voice.

"This isn't the place for fucking discussion, pull me up and we'll talk" he screamed in a state of panic riddled thoughts.

"I want to be working with you." Edward yelled in a panicked shout, which rivalled the one of the guy hanging off the end of a 40 foot drop.

"I need to be with you" he ended in a small voice and a look that would've brought pity in anyone but it didn't bring out that said emotion in the guy whose life was being threatened.

"Fine" Jacob screamed and this scream echoed through his own mind as he was being lifted on to solid ground. When he felt the asphalt under his feet, he fell to his knees as his legs gave out and his brain refused to comprehend what had nearly occurred.

A short burst of laughter by his side alerted him to the presence next to him. Jake tried to muster up some fury but his brain refused to allow any other emotion other than relief. All he managed to summon was a weak glare which was aimed at the pale presence next to him whose laughter still rang.

Just as his voice was being fuelled by his rage, he was cut off by a voice that was mingled with amusement.

"You're my best friend. I would've saved you even if you didn't give me the job" he chuckled a warm laugh as he got into the driver's side of the still standing, fairly intact car.

The laughter felt, to his friend still on the ground, like he was soaked by a bucket of ice.

Ooo-x-ooO

The car screamed in protest as it was forced to speed up with a kick to the accelerator. Warm jazz filled the car and leaked out into the humid night through the broken window. A high-pitched fire engine siren could be heard in the distance. Edward drummed his fingers along the steering wheel in tune with the music.

It was at that moment, more than any moment before in all the years of interacting with him that Jacob decided that it was indeed an incarnation of Satan himself who was currently driving his car.

Feeling like he should be used to this game by now, Jake pondered what lay ahead of him and how many more such experiences he should expect in the future.

"What job do you want exactly?" he asked in a need to fill the silence that he despite the radio. Realising that as a business man, he shouldn't allow himself to be rattled by anything because after all, he couldn't lose the cool exterior that he spent years building.

"CEO", came the short distracted reply as Edward nodded along to the music.

After a short moment, Jake came to another conclusion– Fate, did not like him.

The siren of the fire-engine echoed in the streets of New York above the blaring horns of the cars, as it screeched to halt in front of an art gallery on the Upper East Side. Firemen in hard hats carried hoses in a hurry to tame the blazing dancing flames.

Paintings were going up in flames and the gallery itself was fairly intact but the décor that was designed by one of the top interior decorators was burnt beyond recognition. Patrons in fine clothes and even finer jewellery stood on the sidewalk in shock, watching the as the fire danced its way through the crevasses of the building.

The ones who weren't mesmerized by the hypnotic flames stared in utter shock and incredulity at the brown haired girl sitting at the edge of the side walk, with a blanket around her shoulders.

Much like the paintings being burnt at the very moment, the whole scene looked very much out of a painting.

Her once pristine white evening dress was covered in soot and the curls that were pinned on top of head was falling but a small taciturn smile sat on her lips. The look on her eyes signified that she was far away from the situation at hand. She sat without a care about the ravaging fire that was currently destroying her paintings.

She looked utterly beautiful and picture perfect despite everything.

The look of serenity wasn't a mask of bravery nor was the relief evident in her face, staged. This was because the cause of the fire and the destruction of beautiful paintings was none other than her, Isabella Swan.

Ooo-x-ooO

She had walked into the gallery, the bright lights glittering against the champagne glasses. She watched as her paintings were spread across the gallery.

Her paintings that conveyed her inner most thoughts and feelings were being laid out for the world to dissect and scrutinize. She watched as wealthy people with too much money and not anything more filled the room, judging her paintings.

She felt as if a part of herself was being dissected and desecrated.

She felt as though she had just walked in on her own autopsy.

The painting of the mother wrapping a towel around her small damp daughter, the maternal love evident in her eyes was seeping out of the wall. It showcased her need for a mother.

A girl stepping into the torrid rain, the look of determination evident on her face as she tries to save the clothes hanging from the clothesline.

A determined woman among a group of refugees, her child held closely to her body - to shield her from the world.

These people just saw paintings, material things, something to hang on the fireplace for their dinner guests to fawn over. But what she saw was raw human emotions, her emotions, a part of her that was up for sale. The room began to spin at these thoughts and she ran outside as she felt the room closing in and she felt herself begin to empty her stomach's contents near a fire hydrant.

The only thought running through her mind was to make the pain ease. The scrutiny had to be stopped. She painted for herself and for herself alone. She didn't want to exhibit her thoughts, her fears, her emotions, her weaknesses for the entire world to see. Her pride, her dignity wouldn't allow it.

She felt two cool hands on her shoulders but she shook them off and she didn't know where she got the lighter fluid from nor did she know where the lighter came from. But like a woman possessed, she walked into the room and felt all the eyes on her, as she uncorked the can, poured it along her paintings and finally set it on fire.

She walked out of the empty gallery that started to blaze aglow with the fire of her temper and pride. She sat down on the side-walk with a serene look on her lovely face.

**A/N**: So, what is with everyone going on about 3D movies and 3D Tvs?! If you think about it, it's not a new thing. It has existed for centuries, they were just called plays!

That's my new plan - DON'T TALK ABOUT REVIEWS- so that you all feel guilty about the fact that there are NO reviews so far, take pity and leave some.


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